Riddle
by Sakura414
Summary: "What is something that can always make you feel better, but a doctor never gives you?"  Ciel is sick, and Sebastian decides to play a game to help pass the time.


"You look horrible," was the first thing Ciel Phantomhive heard when he awoke on the brisk autumn morning of November 22.

The first thing he saw was his butler's bright red eyes staring into his mismatched ones, and the first thing he felt was the demon's forehead pressed against his own.

"What do you think you are doing?" the Earl mumbled groggily.

Sebastian smiled. "I am merely looking out for my young master. After all, if I couldn't even check to see if my master is sick, then what kind of butler would I be?"

"Indeed," Ciel sighed,"But could you possibly do that without being on top of me?"

Sebastian climbed off of the bed. "My apologies, Master. For breakfast, I have prepared-"

"I'm not hungry," the former said, kicking his blankets off of his body upon realizing that he had sweated enough to fill a small reservoir.

"Very well," Sebastian placed the lid back over the platter,"I'll let you rest while I cancel your plans for today. In the meantime, why don't we play a game?"

Ciel tilted his head. "A game?"

His butler nodded. "Sitting in bed all day can be boring. I'll ask you a question, and if you can answer correctly by the end of the day, I'll reward you."

The young master nodded. "Alright."

Sebastian smiled. "Here's the question: What is something that can always make you feel better, but a doctor never gives you? You have until the end of the day to answer, and you can guess as many times as you'd like. You may ask for clues at any point during the day, but you may only have three. Good luck, young master. I'll allow you to rest now." With that, the butler exited the bedroom.

x o x o x o x

Ciel opened his eyes, threw his blankets off of his bed, and mopped the sweat from his face. He hated taking afternoon naps, especially when he was sick. They always left him feeling worse, not to mention how hot he became under the covers. He sighed and began reaching for a book when he remembered his butler's "game". "What is something that can always make you feel better, but a doctor never gives you?" he mumbled. What could Sebastian possibly be referring to? What would stop a doctor from giving you something that could always make you feel better if their job was to help you? His train of thought was cut short by a knock at the door.

Mere seconds after the sound of the opening door could be heard, a blur of pink and yellow came bursting into the Earl's room.

"Ciel!" a high-pitched voice yelled.

Forming his small hands into fists was all Ciel could do to keep himself from hiding under his blankets. "Lizzy, what are you doing here?" he asked,"I thought Sebastian cancelled-"

"Yes, but when I heard you were sick, I just _had_ to come and make sure you were alright!" the girl explained.

Ciel sighed, deciding against mentioning how contradictory his fiancee's statement had been. "I'm fine," he lied, in an attempt to get her to leave him alone.

"You don't _look_ fine," she pouted,"I can tell when my own fiance is sick! You should get some rest!"

"That's what I was trying to do before you came," he mumbled.

"Is that your breakfast?" she continued, not having noticed Ciel's interjection,"You need to eat if you're going to get better! If you don't, your stomach will eat away at itself, and then you'd die and I'd be a widow and have to wear black for the rest of my life, which wouldn't be cute at all!"

Ciel face-palmed. "Is _that your problem with me dying?"_

"_Lady Elizabeth!" Paula entered the bedroom,"We'd better let Master Ciel rest."_

"_Yes!" she agreed, standing up and giving Ciel a hug. "Bye!"_

"_You shouldn't hug sick people!" Ciel and Paula scolded in unison._

_Once the two had left, Sebastian returned to his master's room. "Have you figured it out yet, my lord?" he asked._

_Ciel shook his head. "So… it isn't something that someone like Madam Red would be able to give."_

"_Not to her patients," Sebastian replied,"But she would give one to you."_

_The boy groaned and flopped onto his pillows. "I suppose that counted as one of my clues?"_

"_Indeed," his butler confirmed,"Would you like another?"_

_Ciel nodded._

"_Very well," he sat down on the bed,"Certain children have something in common with you which makes this thing impossible to obtain."_

_The Earl frowned. What did he have that most children didn't? Money? Servants? A mansion? Surely, a child with any of these things would be able to pay for whatever it was that Sebastian referred to. "I don't understand! What do I have that-"_

"_Ah, but my lord," Sebastian smiled,"It isn't a matter of what you have, but what you don't have."_

"_What I don't have…" the young master mumbled._

"_You still have one clue left," the demon informed,"And you've got until you go to sleep tonight. Get some rest now. I'll be back with lunch soon."_

_x o x o x o x_

_Ciel gazed at his clock. It was 9:30, just half an hour before Sebastian put him to bed. "What is something that can always make you feel better, but a doctor never gives you?" he whispered to himself,"Something that Madam Red would be able to give to me, but not to her patients. Something which is impossible to obtain for certain children who share a trait with me; a trait which has to do with something which I do not have. But… what don't I have?"_

"_Ugh! I need another hint!" he groaned, just as Sebastian entered the room._

"_Alright," the butler said,"Remember: this is your final hint. You may not ask any more questions beyond this point."_

_Ciel nodded. "I understand."_

"_Very well," Sebastian said,"Here is your last hint. This thing is not a material item, nor does it do anything for you physically."_

"_What?" the Earl screamed,"You could have told me that first!"_

_Sebastian laughed. "Master, if you want your prize, shouldn't you be thinking about the answer instead of complaining about the order in which your clues were given? You've only got fifteen minutes, and your bath is getting cold."_

_Ciel nodded and followed his butler to the bathroom._

_x o x o x o x_

"_Do you have an answer, my lord?" Sebastian asked as he buttoned his master's shirt._

_Ciel was silent for a moment. "…Yes."_

"_And what would that be?" the butler inquired._

"_I don't know if it's right," the young master defended,"But I remember when I was young and got hurt, Madam Red would always take care of me. She would clean my wound, then bandage it, and then she'd kiss it. So… I think that's the answer. A kiss is something that a doctor would never give to a patient. If a child is an orphan, like me, often times they will never be able to have a kiss. Finally, a kiss is not a material thing. It has no healing properties, nor does it make you feel better physically."_

_Sebastian smiled. "Very good, my lord. You have correctly answered my riddle." He removed one white glove with his teeth and placed a hand on his master's forehead. "Ah! It seems your fever has gone down."_

_Ciel looked up at the demon and whispered,"Do I still get my prize?"_

_The elder man nodded. The reward was not a material object. It was something that Ciel had not gotten since the day of his parents' deaths (and this time, it was quite different). It was not something that a doctor could give him, nor did it have any healing properties. _

_All the same, it made him feel much better._

_x o x o x o x_

_A/N: Hello! For those of you who don't know me, I'm Sakura. I'm new to this fandom; my home is actually over in the X/1999 archive. This fandom is so much bigger! O.O It's intimidating…_

_Before those of you who have read my other stories complain, I know that I've played the whole "kiss it better" card before. Please don't remind me._

_I hope the dialogue wasn't too weird! I don't exactly know how British nobles from the nineteenth century talked, so I was pretty much going off of the English dub. No matter what, it's still fun when your mind-voice reads things in a British accent, right? ^.^_

_To my lovely Nee-chan, ForgottenTimepiece: I don't know if you'll be reading this, but if you are, then maybe it'll give you some incentive to come watch Kuroshitsuji with me sometime when you're not busy! Oh, wait… =.=_

_Until next time (Will there be a next time on this fandom?)_

_Sakura_


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